The People History Home

May 16th Major News Events

  1. 1929 The first Academy Awards were awarded.
  2. 1943 The Warsaw Ghetto uprising ended after 1 month as German forces regained control through force.
  3. 2007 The first synagogue in Estonia since the Holocaust opened.
  4. 1991 Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to address the United States Congress.

Find More Details for What happened 16th May This Day in History on your birthday

16 May, 1969 U.S.A. Protest and Rioting

1969 : Rioting and protests against the war in Vietnam continue on campuses throughout California with local National Guardsman patrolling Berkeley campus of the University of California area with fixed bayonets to keep peace and order.

16 May, 1929 U.S.A. First Academy Awards

1929 : The First ever Academy Awards of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards were handed out at a banquet held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

16 May, 1918 U.S.A. Sedition Act

1918 : The Sedition Act is passed by the U.S. Congress, creating more harsh penalties aimed at people who were against American participation in World War I. The law punished dissenters including anyone who was found to be insulting the government. The Sedition Act is considered by many law scholars to be in direct conflict with the First Amendment right to free speech. Palmer Raids Timeline

16 May, 1943 Poland Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

1943 : Resistance in the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw has ended as SS Police and Wehrmacht units using tanks and other armored vehicles take back control of the ghetto crushing resistance after 1 month of fighting.

From From Our 1920s Fashion Page

Japanese Crepe Frock from the 20s Japanese Crepe Frock
Price: $11.98

A thoroughly delightful 1920s style and a wonderful bargain in a summer frock of Japanese crepe. Artfully hand embroidered with silk floss on pockets and around neck. Narrow tie sash. Pearl buttons ornament front and fasten dress in back. Colors come in lavender, rose, or blue.


16 May, 1927 U.S.A. Floods in Louisiana

1927 : Following the floods in Louisiana rescue workers have so far found over 20 people dead with more coming as they continue to check homes flooded due to the flooding.

16 May, 1944 Italy World War II

1944 : Many believe the end of the World War is getting closer as allied forces push the Nazis back an all fronts including Italy and from the Eastern Front by Russia, at the same time significant gains are being made in the Pacific.

1946 U.S.A. "Annie Get Your Gun"

1946 : The Irving Berlin musical, "Annie Get Your Gun," opened at New York’s Imperial Theatre for its debut performance. It went on to do 1,146 more performances to become one of the most popular musicals in theater history.

1960 France U2 Spy Plane

1960 : The leaders of the most powerful nations on earth came to verbal blows in Paris over the U2 Spy Plane which flew over the Soviet Union. President Nikita Khrushchev and US President Dwight D. Eisenhower are at odds over the issue.

1968 England Block Of Flats in Newham Collapses

1968 : A block of Flats in Newham in the heart of docklands area in London's East End collapses following a gas explosion on the 18th floor leaving at least 3 dead and 80 families fleeing the tower block.

1974 Lebanon Israeli Bombing

1974 : Israeli planes bomb 7 Palestinian refugee camps in southern Lebanon killing at least 27 people and leaving 138 injured.

1976 Lebanon Muslims and Christians Fighting

1976 : Muslims and Christians in Lebanon are fighting a fierce battle using rocket artillery and the death toll has reached over 220 with fighting still continuing , food shortages are now affecting most of the population and nether side wish to attend peace talks.

Born This Day In History 16th May

Celebrating Birthday Today

Pierce Brosnan

Born: May 16th 1953 , Drogheda, Ireland

Known For : He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films (GoldenEye 1995, Tomorrow Never Dies 1997, The World Is Not Enough 1999, and Die Another Day 2002). His early breakthrough came with the television series Remington Steele (1982–1987). Other movies include The Fourth Protocol (1987) and the comedy Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) and the remake of the heist film The Thomas Crown Affair (1999).

From From Our 1957 Toys Page

Electric Juke Box From The 1950s Electric Juke Box
Price: $29.25
Perfect for the children's room or rumpus room! It's the tops with the "teen-age" set, as well as with younger children. It is built to take the steady grind that fun-loving youngsters will give it. Plays three speeds of records and has an electrically-driven turntable and an electric amplifier that produces sound that compares with adult-standard phonographs. Intermittently flashing lights at the front give it a realistic "juke-box" appearance. Toys reflect society and the culture of the period as this juke-box was a miniture copy of the real thing found in Fifties Diners

1988 U.S.A. Nicotine Addictive

1988 : The Surgeon General C. Everett Koop has declared that Nicotine is a as addictive as Heroin and Cocaine and that all cigarette packets should carry a public health warning , we have included a graphic with his suggestions.

1991 U.S.A. British Monarch Addresses Congress

1991 : Queen Elizabeth II addresses the U.S. Congress becoming the first British Monarch to address Congress.

1997 Zaire President Mobutu

1997 : President Mobutu of Zaire has left the capital of Kinshasa as his generals have told him they will not defend the capital against the advancing rebels.

2005 U.S.A. Sabrina Harman

2005 : Army Specialist Sabrina Harman was convicted at Fort Hood, Texas, for her role in the mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib and sentenced to 6 months in prison. (She was the woman featured in many of the worst photographs of abuses of prisoners on TV and Newspapers)

2005 Bolivia Energy Protest in La Paz

2005 : Thousands of Bolivians gathered in the capital of La Paz to demand the nationalization of the energy industry in the South American country. The protests were spurred by a bill passed by the Congress but refused by the President that dealt with taxes on energy companies. The protesters believed the bill to be too lenient, while President Carlos Mesa believed it to be too harsh on the companies.

2006 U.S.A. Richard Hatch

2006 : The winner of the first Survivor Series is sentenced in Providence, R.I., to four years in prison for failing to pay taxes on his reality TV prize and other earnings.

2007 New Synagogue Opens in Estonia

2007 : The first synagogue to be opened since the Holocaust opened in Tallinn, Estonia. The synagogue, in the capital of the country, was built to serve the country's Jewish community of about 2,500 people. Many of the country's synagogues and Jewish communities were destroyed during World War II and the Soviet era.

Born This Day In History 16th May

Celebrating Birthdays Today

James Moran

Born: May 16th, 1945, Buffalo, New York

Known For : Jim Moran served as Virginia's 8th Congressional District's congressman in the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2015. He was the mayor of Alexandria, Virginia from 1985 to 1990 and sat on the influential House Appropriations Committee and House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee. He helped to found the New Democrat Coalition in 1997, to which he is still a member. He supports gun control, a ban on assault weapons and a repeal of the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy that is used in the U.S. military. By contrast he supports stronger methods of dealing with illegal immigration. Since 1990, Moran has won twelve terms in the House. He also sat on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies and was chairman of the House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. He retired in 2015 and is currently a professor at Virginia Tech.

From From Our 1980's Home Electronics Page

1986 Commodore Computer System

1986 Commodore Computer System

Price: $399.98

RGB composite color monitor has a sharp 13-inch diagonal measure picture. The Commodore 64 computer has 64K RAM. The 16-color selection reproduces games with close to arcade quality. 66-character keyboard includes upper and lower case letters along with four programmable function keys.


2010 Japan Couple Married by Robot

2010 : Japan conducts the first wedding in which the couple was married by a robot. The couple had a connection to the robotics industry and wished for the robot, the I-Fairy, to officiate their wedding in Tokyo.

2012 Honduras Reporter Found Dead

2012 : Journalist Alfredo Vilatoro was found dead in Tegucigalpa a week after being abducted. The radio reporter had been kidnapped on May 9th by a group of young men and was found dressed in a police officers uniform after his abduction.

2013 Women Cannot Run in Iran Presidential Election

2013 : The Guardian Council, a constitutional body in Iran, has ruled out the possibility of women being able to run in the country's June 14th elections. Thirty women had tried to register as candidates before the ruling came down.